Chris Paul

The Houston Rockets have to find a way to win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals without Chris Paul on Saturday. And if they’re unable to do that, they may be faced with the same dilemma in Game 7.

On Friday, the Rockets announced that Paul will not play in Game 6 and will be evaluated further when the team returns to Houston. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, there is already “pessimism” surrounding Paul’s status for Game 7 if it becomes necessary.

The Rockets are naturally going to make these announcements one game at a time, because that’s the right thing to do strategically, but the pessimism emanating from Houston about Paul’s ability to bounce back for a potential Game 7 is unmistakable https://t.co/u0NJHnGfaE

Considering he has played some of his best basketball of the season over the past two playoff series, Paul’s injury could not have come at a worse time. He’s averaging 19.8 points against Golden State at a time when James Harden is battling through a historically bad shooting slump. Houston’s ability to overcome adversity is going to be tested Game 6 and possibly Game 7.

One report indicated that Paul was in pain when he woke up on Friday morning, so the Rockets can only hope the injury is not something that will affect him long-term. Either way, it must be somewhat serious if CP3 is missing a potential series-clinching game that could send Houston to the NBA Finals.

Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul sounds like he’s facing an uphill battle to play in Game 6.

Paul injured his hamstring late in Houston’s Game 5 victory over the Golden State Warriors, but a team source told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on Friday morning that Paul was in pretty bad shape after a night to rest.

Paul anticipated that he’d be alright for Game 6 immediately after Thursday’s contest, and perhaps he will end up being right. The fact that he’s apparently still suffering as of Friday morning, however, is a bad sign. It may be more likely than not that he has to sit out at least one game.

“It was well deserved,” Curry said. “It was a tough shot. If you can shimmy on someone else, you gotta be alright getting shimmied on. So I’ll keep shimmying and maybe he will too. We’ll see what happens.”

Paul’s play in the series is one of the biggest reasons the Rockets are up 3-2, though there is some concern over an injury he suffered in the final minute of Game 5. Assuming CP3 is healthy, we likely haven’t seen the last of his friendly rivalry with Curry.

Chris Paul is dealing with yet another hamstring injury, but the Houston Rockets star does not expect it to cost him any time in the Western Conference Finals.

Paul left his team’s Game 5 win over the Golden State Warriors in the final minute on Thursday after he tweaked his right hamstring. He appeared to injure it on an awkward floater attempt. After the game, the point guard expressed optimism about his availability for Game 6.

Just saw injured Rockets guard Chris Paul jump into a Maybach outside the Toyota Center and he said: “I will be all right.” I next asked about Game 6, Paul said: “Oh yeah,” before being whisked away.

The Rockets have said that they will provide an update on Paul’s status on Friday.

Paul battled a left hamstring injury during the regular season. He also had a left hamstring injury during the 2015 playoffs with the Clippers. CP3 worked through a sore foot earlier in the Western Conference Finals and is a big reason why his team leads the series 3-2. Eric Gordon could see a bigger role if Paul is unable to play in Game 6 or 7.

The Houston Rockets’ big win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday was tempered somewhat by the late injury that star guard Chris Paul suffered, but it sounds like they already have a plan in place in case he misses time.

Speaking with reporters afterwards, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni did not sound particularly optimistic about Paul’s status and said that the nine-time All-Star was not in good spirits, per Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated.

Rockets' Mike D'Antoni on Chris Paul: "We'll see. He'll be evaluated tomorrow. They'll do whatever they can do. If he's there [for Game 6], great, good for him… His spirits aren't great. He wanted to be out there. That's normal."

Gordon, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, scored 24 points in the win on Thursday and is now up to 18.2 points a game for the series. He has come off the bench in every single game however, and the Rockets don’t usually use him as much of an initiator. Still, Gordon used to average four-plus assists a game for the LA Clippers back in the day, so he at least has it in his arsenal.